'CELEBRITY APPRENTICE' IS THE #1 SHOW ON THURSDAY NIGHT IN ADULTS 18-49

BURBANK, Calif. � January 23, 2008 � NBC ranked #2 in primetime's key demographic of adults 18-49 in a lopsided ratings week dominated by Fox's Sunday telecast of the NFC Championship game and four hours of the returning "American Idol." NBC averaged a 2.6 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 7.8 million viewers overall for the week of January 14-20, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research. .

In a week in which Fox's primetime telecast of the NFL's National Football Conference Championship and its post game shows topped the weekly program rankings, NBC placed seven shows among the week's top 20 programs in adults 18-49. In fact, excluding sports telecasts, Monday's "Deal or No Deal" was the #3-ranked show and "American Gladiators" and "Law & Order: SVU" tied for #4, trailing only the Tuesday and Wednesday editions of Fox's "American Idol." Among entertainment programs this week, "Celebrity Apprentice" ranked #8 in adults 18-49, "Law & Order" was #12, "ER" was #14 (tied) and "Medium" ranked #17.

Through the first 17 weeks of the 2007-08 season, three-tenths of a rating point currently separate the top four broadcast networks in adults 18-49, with Fox in the lead and with NBC, ABC and CBS tied for second place. Season-to-date averages in adults 18-49 for the period September 24, 2007 through January 20, 2008 are Fox (3.6/10) NBC, ABC and CBS (3.3/9), Univision (1.5/4), CW (1.1/3) and Telemundo (0.4/1).

Through the first 17 weeks of the 2007-08 season, NBC is the only network to have grown younger in primetime. NBC's median age is nearly one year younger than it was last season, moving to 46.5 years this season from 47.4 years at this point last season. In this same comparison, ABC's median age has increased by 2.1 years (to 49.0 from 46.9), CBS's median age has increased to 52.7 years old from 51.9 and Fox's audience has aged to 44.6 from 44.2 years old.

* NBC won Monday night in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key measures. "Deal or No Deal" and "American Gladiators" were the #1 and #2 show of the night on any network in adults 18-49.

* On Monday, "American Gladiators" won its time period in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key measures. "Gladiators" was the #1 show of the night on any network among adults 18-34, key male demos, teens and kids.

* Also on Monday, "Deal or No Deal" posted its highest numbers of the season and was the #1 show of the night in both adults 18-49 and total viewers. "Deal" topped the regular time period premiere of Fox's "Sarah Connor Chronicles" in 18-49, total viewers and other measures.

* On Tuesday, "The Biggest Loser" scored NBC's highest 18-49 rating ever against a regular two-hour telecast of "American Idol," excluding Olympics. The two-hour "Loser" was the time period's top-rated alternative to "Idol" in 18-49 and other measures and, despite the "Idol" competition, "Loser" grew by 31 percent in 18-49 and 25 percent in total viewers from its first half-hour to its fourth.

* Also on Tuesday, "Law & Order: SVU" dominated its time period, beating the ABC-CBS competition combined in adults 18-49 and nearly doubling the combined competition in adults 18-34.

* On Wednesday, "Deal or No Deal" was the top-rated alternative to "American Idol," finishing more than a full 18-49 rating point ahead of all other non-"Idol" competition. Versus its year-ago telecast, also opposite the first Wednesday "Idol" of the season, "Deal" was up 41 percent in 18-49 and 37 percent in total viewers.

* Also on Wednesday, "Law & Order" dominated the time period in adults 18-49, 18-34, 25-54 and other measures. In adults 18-49, "Law & Order" won by a 50 percent margin of victory.

* On Thursday, "The Celebrity Apprentice" was the #1 show of the night on any network in adults 18-49, winning its slot in that demo and in all key-adult male demographics.

* "The Celebrity Apprentice" continues to track solidly ahead of the previous program in the "Apprentice" franchise, with last week's telecast, the third in the current cycle, gaining 43 percent in 18-49 rating versus the third episode of "Apprentice 6." Versus the prior week, "Celebrity Apprentice" was up 14 percent in 18-49.

* On Saturday, an encore "Law & Order" won its slot in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key measures.

Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Additional NBC highlights for the week of January 14-20:

On Monday, Jan. 14, from 8-9 p.m. ET, "American Gladiators" (4.6 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49, 10.6 million viewers overall) won the first hour of primetime in adults 18-49, total viewers and most other key ratings categories. In head-to-head competition with Fox's mid-season return of "Prison Break," "Gladiators" won the hour by a 39 percent margin in adults 18-49 (4.6 vs. 3.3), a 35 percent margin in adults 18-34 (5.0 vs. 3.7) and a 45 percent margin among men 18-34 (5.5 vs. 3.8). "American Gladiators" retained 96 percent of the previous Monday's strong regular-slot premiere rating, delivering NBC's second-highest 18-49 rating in this time period in 10 months (since March 5, 2007).

From its first to its second half-hour, "American Gladiators" grew by 12 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 4.8/12 from a 4.3/11) and by 11 percent, or more than 1.1 million persons, in total viewers (to 11.2 million from 10.0 million).

"American Gladiators" was the #1 telecast on any network last night among adults 18-34, men 18-49, men 18-34, teens 12-17 and kids 2-11. "Gladiators" was the #2 show of the night on any network in adults 18-49, trailing only NBC's 9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal."

At 9 p.m. ET, "Deal or No Deal" (5.0/12 in 18-49, 15.1 million viewers overall) was the #1 show of the night in adults 18-49 and total viewers. Head-to-head versus Fox's regular time period premiere of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," "Deal" won the hour by a 19 percent margin in adults 18-49 (5.0 vs. 4.2), a 10 percent margin in adults 18-34 (4.3 vs. 3.9) and a 50 percent margin in total viewers (15.1 million vs. 10.1 million).

"Deal" scored its highest 18-49 rating since Monday, March 5, 2007 (a 5.4) and its largest viewer total since Monday, March 12, 2007 (16.8 million).

At 10 p.m. ET, "Medium" (3.3/9 in 18-49, 9.5 million viewers overall) retained 100 percent in adult 18-49 rating and 99 percent in total viewers of the prior Monday's solid season-premiere results, despite increased competition last week from a first-run "CSI: Miami" on CBS. "Medium" was a strong #2 in the time period in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key measures, topping ABC's first-run drama "October Road."

"Medium" matched NBC's best 18-49 rating in the hour since October 1, 2007 and matched the highest "Medium" rating since Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007

"Biggest Loser" was the time period's top-rated alternative to "Idol" in adults 18-49, adults, men and women 18-34 and other measures.

From its first half-hour to its fourth, despite head-to-head competition with "Idol," "Biggest Loser" increased by 31 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 3.4/8 from a 2.6/7) and by 25 percent in total viewers (to 8.3 million from 6.6 million).

NBC ranked #2 on Tuesday night in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, trailing only Fox with "Idol." Versus the same night last year, NBC was up 21 percent in 18-49 rating (3.5 vs. 2.9).

On Wednesday, Jan. 16 from 8-9 p.m. ET, "Deal or No Deal" (3.6/10 in 18-49, 13.5 million viewers overall) was the top-rated alternative to "American Idol" in adults 18-49, total viewers and virtually all key ratings measures. In an hour of unscripted programming on the broadcast networks, "Deal" finished more than a full 18-49 rating point ahead of all other non-"Idol" competition � ABC's "Wife Swap" (2.0/5), CBS's "Power of 10" (1.1/3) and CW's "Crowned" (0.6/2).

Versus its year-ago telecast opposite the Wednesday "Idol" premiere, "Deal" was up 41 percent in 18-49 and 37 percent, or more than 3.2 million persons, in total viewers, despite airing in the lower-viewership 8 p.m. hour this year (a 3.1 and 11.8 million viewers vs. a 2.2 and 8.6 million viewers at 9 p.m. on January 17, 2007).

From its first to its second half-hour, "Deal" increased by 26 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 3.4/8 from a 2.7/7) and by 18 percent, or nearly 2.0 million persons, in total viewers (to 12.8 million from 10.8 million).

At 9 p.m. ET, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2.4/5 in 18-49, 8.8 million viewers overall) finished within a tenth of an 18-49 rating point of the prior week's result despite the arrival of "Idol." This NBC telecast of an episode of "Criminal Intent" that originally ran on USA Network, improved by 9 percent on what NBC got in this time period on the same night last year, also versus the Wednesday premiere of "Idol" (2.4 vs. a 2.2 for "Deal or No Deal").

At 10 p.m. ET, "Law & Order" (3.6/9 in 18-49, 11.6 million viewers overall) dominated the time period in adults 18-49, with a 50 percent margin of victory (3.6 vs. a 2.4 for that hour of CBS's "Comanche Moon, Part 3"). "Law & Order" also won the hour in adults 18-34, adults 25-54 and numerous other demographics.

NBC ranked #2 on Wednesday in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, marking the second night in a row that NBC ranked #2 in prime in these key measures, trailing only Fox with "Idol." Versus the same night last year, NBC was up 36 percent in 18-49 (3.0 vs. 2.2) and 46 percent in total viewers (10.7 million vs. 7.4 million).

On Thursday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast of "My Name is Earl" averaged a 2.4/7 in 18-49 and 5.6 million viewers overall. At 8:30 p.m., an encore telecast of "The Office" delivered a 2.2/6 in 18-49 and 4.9 million viewers overall.

Thursday from 9-10:01 p.m. ET, "The Celebrity Apprentice" (4.0/8 in adults 18-49, 9.1 million viewers overall) was the #1 show of the night on any network in adults 18-49. "Celebrity Apprentice" won its slot in adults 18-49 and all key adult-male demographics. "Celebrity Apprentice" continues to track solidly ahead of the previous program in the "Apprentice" franchise, with this telecast up 43 percent in adults 18-49 versus the third episode of "Apprentice 6" (4.0 vs. a 2.8 for "Apprentice 6" on Sunday, Jan. 21 from 9-10 p.m.). Versus the prior week, "Celebrity Apprentice" increased by 14 percent in 18-49 rating (4.0 vs. 3.5) and by 12 percent in total viewers (to 9.1 million from 8.2 million).

From half-hour to half-hour, "The Celebrity Apprentice" grew by 18 percent in both 18-49 rating (to a 4.4/11 from a 3.5/9) and total viewers (to 9.8 million from 8.3 million).

On Friday, Jan. 18 from 8-9 p.m. ET, "1 vs 100" (1.8/6 in adults 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall) ranked #2 in the time period in adults 18-49 and total viewers and #1 (tied) in adults 18-34.

Friday at 9 p.m. ET, "Friday Night Lights" averaged a 1.8/5 in 18-49 and 5.3 million viewers overall. It is worth noting that on average "Friday Night Lights" has been adding 19 percent in 18-49 rating when going from "live plus same day" ratings to "live plus seven days." Season-to-date, "Lights" is the #3 most time-shifted series on primetime television, increasing by 38 percent in 18-49 from "live only" to "live plus seven days," behind only NBC's "The Office" and "Heroes." "Friday Night Lights" is also the #3 most upscale series, with a 135 index of adults 18-49 living in homes with $100,000-plus incomes, behind only NBC's "The Office" and "30 Rock."

On Saturday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" averaged a 1.1/3 in 18-49 and 4.8 million viewers overall. At 9 p.m., a rebroadcast of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.4/4 in 18-49, 5.5 million viewers overall) matched NBC's highest non-sports rating in this time period since November 24, 2007.

Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, an encore telecast of "Law & Order" (1.7/5 in 18-49, 5.9 million viewers overall) won the time period in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key measures.

On Sunday, Jan. 20 from 7-9 p.m. ET, "Dateline NBC" averaged a 1.2/3 in 18-49 and 4.9 million viewers overall. From 9-11 p.m., an encore telecast of the 1999 feature film "Runaway Bride" averaged a 1.2/3 in 18-49 and 4.2 million viewers overall. From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Runaway Bride" increased by 60 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 1.6/4 from a 1.0/2) and by 38 percent, or more than 1.4 million persons, in total viewers (to 5.3 million from 3.9 million).